lashing out at Congress president Sonia Gandhi for her criticism of the Centre over the Naga peace accord, the BJP on Thursday said the Opposition party “bereft of any statesmanship” has now also been asking its own Chief Ministers in the North-East not to support the “historical” announcement and not wanting to be one with the Government even on a sensitive national security issue.
Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman quoted initial statements by the Congress Chief Ministers of the North-East States welcoming the accord to attack the main Opposition party and suggested that they had been asked to delete their tweets as the party wanted to attack the Government.
“On political issues, you are opposing the Government. On economic issues, you are opposing. Today on an issue of national security, you are opposing. Whose interest are you servingIJ
“Congress has reached the absolute nadir, absolute bottom in their obstructionist politics,” she told reporters, hours after Gandhi attacked the Government for not consulting the Chief Ministers of the region and accused it of arrogance. Sonia had said when she called Chief Ministers of Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, who are directly affected by the Naga accord, she found that they were “totally blank” on the issue.
Dismissing the charge, Sitharaman said the Centre had called a meeting of all State Chief Ministers connected with the accord but those from the Congress had chosen to boycott it.
Quoting tweets and statements of Assam and Arunachal Chief Ministers Tarun Gogoi and Nabam Tuki besides Congress MP Ninong Ering, the BJP leader said all of them “welcomed” the accord with Ering calling it historic.
Sitharaman said her party is hearing that Congress has chosen to ask all its leaders from North-East not to welcome the accord and some have deleted their tweets and withdrawn their comments, she said.
The BJP wondered what led Congress not to stand as one with the Government even on a subject pertaining to national security issue after consistently not cooperating with it on key economic issues.